Methods, systems and apparatus for delivery of media

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and apparatus for collecting data and presenting media to a user are provided. The systems generally includes a data gathering module associated with an electronic device. The data gathering module communicates gathered data to a management module, which manages at least one user profile based on the gathered data. The management module may select media for presentation to a user based on the user profile, and the selected media may be displayed to the user via a media output device co-located with the user, such as a display of the user&#39;s mobile electronic device or a television, computer, billboard or other display co-located with the user. Related methods are also provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods, systems and apparatus for delivery ofmedia. In one embodiment, a user profile is maintained and media isdelivered to a mobile electronic device associated with the userprofile.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A great deal of information is generated when people use electronicdevices, such as when people use mobile phones and cable set-top boxes.Such information, such as location, applications used, social network,physical and online locations visited, to name a few, could be used todeliver useful services and information to end users, and providecommercial opportunities to advertisers and retailers. However, most ofthis information is effectively abandoned due to deficiencies in the waysuch information may be captured. For example, and with respect to amobile phone, information is generally not gathered while the mobilephone is idle (i.e., not being used by a user). Other information, suchas presence of others in the immediate vicinity, time and frequency ofmessages to other users, and activities of a user's social network isalso not captured effectively. There exists a need for methods, systemsand apparatus to collect and communicate data associated with users andtheir electronic devices.

SUMMARIES OF THE INVENTION

Systems, methods and apparatus for collecting data and presenting mediabased thereon are provided. The systems generally include a datagathering module associated with an electronic device. The datagathering module communicates gathered data to a management module,which manages at least one user profile based on the gathered data. Themanagement module may select media for presentation to a user based onthe user profile, and the selected media may be displayed to the uservia a media output device co-located with the user, such as a display ofthe user's mobile electronic device or a billboard or other displayco-located with the user.

In one aspect, systems for selecting media for presentation to a mediaoutput device are provided. In one embodiment, a system comprises a datagathering module, a profile management module, a user profile and amedia presentation module. The data gathering module is associated withan electronic device and gathers electronic device data of theelectronic device. The profile management module receives the electronicdevice data and manages a user profile based thereon. The user profileis associated with a user of the electronic device and includes at leastsome of the electronic device data. The media presentation modulereceives at least a portion of the user profile and facilitatespresentation of selected media to a media output device associated withthe user. The media selected by the media presentation module isselected, at least in part, based at least in part on the user profile.In one approach, the electronic device data includes at least one ofspatial data, temporal data, and interaction data. In one embodiment theelectronic device data includes at least two of spatial data, temporaldata, and interaction data or subsets thereof, and, in a particularembodiment, the electronic device data includes at least two of spatialdata, temporal data, and interaction data. In one approach, theinteraction data includes at least one of interpersonal communicationdata, media data, relationship data, transaction data, deviceinteraction data and subsets thereof. In one approach the interactiondata includes at least two of interpersonal communication data, mediadata, relationship data, transaction data, device interaction data andsubsets thereof. In one approach, the relationship data includes atleast one of social network data and user identity data. The userprofile comprises at least some of the electronic device data, and in aparticular embodiment includes deduced information that is deduced basedon at least one of the spatial data, the temporal data, and theinteraction data. In this regard, the profile management module maycorrelate one or more of the spatial data, the temporal data, and theinteraction data to deduce at least some of the deduced information.Thus, the user profile may include at least one of past location data,present location data, and predicted future location data. The userprofile may include past activity information, present activityinformation, predicted future activity information, and preferencesinformation. In a particular approach, the user profile is one of aplurality of user profiles and the profile management module manages theplurality of user profiles, where at least some of the deducedinformation is deduced based at least on a comparison of two or more ofthe plurality of user profiles. In one embodiment, each of the pluralityof user profiles is associated with an electronic device and the mediapresentation module selects media for presentation to at least one ofthe electronic devices based at least on a comparison of two or more ofthe plurality of user profiles.

In another aspect, the systems may include an authenticator forreceiving and authenticating third party data received from at least onethird party. Thus, the profile management module may receive theelectronic device data and the third party data, manage a user profileassociated with a user, where the user profile includes at least some ofthe electronic device data and the third party data. In one embodiment,the user profile comprises deduced information that is deduced based onthe electronic device data and the third party data. Thus, the profilemanagement module may correlate one or more of the electronic devicedata and the third party data to deduce at least some of the deducedinformation.

In another aspect, methods for selecting media for presentation to amedia output device are provided. In one embodiment, a method includesthe steps of collecting data, maintaining user profiles based on thecollected data, selecting media from a media inventory, selecting amedia output device, and causing delivery of the selected media. Thecollecting data step generally includes collecting at least two ofspatial data, temporal data and interaction data from a plurality ofelectronic devices. The interaction data generally includes at least oneof interpersonal communication data, media data, relationship data,transaction data and electronic device interaction data. In oneapproach, the collected data is uniquely identified via a uniqueidentifier, such as via a unique identifier utilized with datacollecting modules resident on the electronic devices, or via a phonenumber associated with the electronic devices. The step of maintaininguser profiles generally includes maintaining a plurality of userprofiles based on at least one of temporal data, spatial data, andinteraction data. In one approach, at least one unique identifier isutilized to facilitate user profile identification and maintenance. Inone embodiment, the user profiles include at least some of the collecteddata. In one approach, the maintaining step comprises correlating datafrom at least one of the temporal data, spatial data and interactiondata to generate deduced information. At least some of the deducedinformation may be included in one or more of the user profiles. Thestep of selecting media from a media inventory is generally based atleast in part on one user profile. In one approach, the selecting stepcomprises comparing at least a portion of the user profile (e.g.,current location data) to media of a media inventory and selecting atleast one targeted media for delivery. The step of selecting a mediaoutput device via which to deliver the selected media generallycomprises comparing the location of a user (e.g., the location of a userassociated with a user profile) to media output devices proximal theuser, and selecting one or more media output devices co-located with theuser. In one embodiment, the media output device is a mobile electronicdevice of the user. In another embodiment, the media output device is adisplay co-located with the user, such as a billboard, a computer or atelevision. In another embodiment, the media output device is a deviceassociated with the third party, such a business or government entity.The causing delivery step is generally accomplished by transforming themedia to conform to the selected media output device(s) and transmittingthe selected media to the selected media output device(s).

In a related aspect, the method may include the step of receiving thirdparty data from at least one third party, the third party data includingat least one of temporal data, spatial data and interaction data andauthenticating at least one of the electronic device data and the thirdparty data. In one embodiment, the authenticating step may include thesteps of comparing a third party certificate to authenticatinginformation and allowing use of the third party data for the maintainingstep. In another embodiment, the authenticating step may include thesteps of comparing the third party data to preexisting data of the userprofiles, determining whether the third party data satisfies apredetermined number of authenticating criteria, and allowing use of thethird party data for the maintaining step. Thus, the method may alsoinclude the step of correlating at least one of the electronic devicedata and the third party data to produce deduced information.

In another aspect, methods of facilitating collection of electronic dataare provided. In one embodiment, a method includes the steps ofassociating a data gathering module with an electronic device,collecting interaction data via the data gathering module, compensatinga user based on the collecting interaction data step, and maintaining auser profile based at least in part on the interaction data. Thecompensating step may include compensating the user for facilitating thecollection of the interaction data in return for an agreement by theuser to allow the collected interaction data to be utilized to maintaina user profile and/or for an agreement by the user to allow thecollected interaction data to be shared with third parties and/or for anagreement by the user to allow the presentation of media to the user. Inone approach, discounted services and/or discounted merchandise areprovided as at least part of the compensation to the user. In oneembodiment, the method includes the step of enabling the user to selectone of the data collection levels (e.g., the amount of interaction data,spatial data and/or temporal data collected) and/or the data sharinglevels (e.g., with whom the collected data is shared and to what degreethe collected data is shared). The method may thus include the step ofcompensating the user with compensation in proportion to the datacollection levels and/or the data sharing levels. In this regard, themethod may include the step of selecting a first data collection levelfor a first type of data and may include the step of selecting a seconddata collection level for a second type of data. The method may includethe step of selecting a first sharing level for the first data type andthe may include the step of selecting a second sharing level for thesecond type of data. One or more of these selecting steps may befacilitated via a data gathering module or a component thereof orrelated thereto. In this regard, in one embodiment, the user mayaccomplish one or more of these selecting steps. The first and secondtypes of data may be any one of the spatial data, temporal data andinteraction data and any subset thereof. In one embodiment, the firsttype of data includes data from at least two of the spatial data,temporal data and interaction data. In one embodiment, the second typeof data is data not included with the first type of data. The first andsecond sharing levels may relate to one or more of data shared withvarious entities, such as businesses, governmental entities andrelations, such as personal relations. In one approach, the firstsharing level may allow for sharing of the first type of data with afirst entity and the second sharing level allows for sharing of thesecond type of data with a second entity. In a particular embodiment,the first and second types of data may include at least some commondata, and this common data may be shared with the first entity but isnot shared with the second entity. In one embodiment, the methodincludes the step of compensating the user at a first compensation raterelative to the first data collection level and/or the first sharinglevel. The method may include the step of compensating the user at asecond compensation rate relative to the second data collection leveland/or the second sharing level.

In another aspect, methods for maintaining a plurality of user profilesand receiving compensation therefore are provided. In one embodiment, amethod comprises collecting electronic data from a plurality of mobileelectronic devices, maintaining a plurality of user profiles, each ofthe user profiles being associated with at least one mobile electronicdevices, enabling access, by one or more vendors, to at least a portionof the user profile information for at least some of the plurality ofuser profiles, and receiving compensation from the one or more vendorsfor the enabling access step. The method of may include enabling accessto a first tier of the user profile and receiving compensation stepcomprises receiving compensation at a first level. The method may alsoinclude the step of enabling access to a second tier of the user profileand receiving compensation step comprises receiving compensation at asecond level, which may be higher than the first tier level ofcompensation. In one embodiment, a request for access to the second tierof the user profile may be received, and access to the second tier mayconcomitantly or subsequently enabled. In another approach, at least aportion of a first one of the plurality of user profiles is resident ona mobile electronic device and is associated with a first user. In thisapproach, access to at least a portion of the first user's profile maybe facilitated by the first user, and at least a portion of thecompensation may be provided to the first user for facilitating accessto the profile. In another approach, the method may include receiving,from the one or more vendors, offers for a right to present media to afirst user, accepting one of the offers, and enabling the presentationof media to the first user.

In another aspect, methods for facilitating collection of informationassociated with a mobile electronic device are provided. In oneembodiment, a method comprises collecting electronic device data via oneor more operational modules resident on a mobile electronic device,providing collected electronic data to a data gathering module residenton the mobile electronic device, and compensating a third party for theproviding step. The method may also include the steps of maintaining auser profile based on the collected electronic data, enabling access, byone or more vendors, to at least a portion of the user profile; andreceiving vendor compensation from the one or more vendors for theenabling step. In one approach, the compensating step may include atleast a portion of the vendor compensation to the third party. In thisapproach, the user profile may include first information and secondinformation, the first information being based on data collected by afirst operational module of the mobile electronic device, the firstoperational module being associated with a first party, the secondinformation being based on data collected by a second operational moduleof the mobile electronic device, the second operational module beingassociated with a second party. The method may thus include the step ofcompensating the first party at a first compensation rate, the firstcompensation rate being related to the amount of data provided to thedata gathering module by the first operational module. The method mayfurther include the step of compensating the second party at a secondcompensation rate, the second compensation rate being related to theamount of data provided by the second operational module to the datagathering module. In this approach, the first compensation rate may berelated to a ratio of the first information to total information of theuser profile, and the second compensation rate may be related to a ratioof the second information to the total information of the user profile.

In another aspect, methods for facilitating collection of userinformation are provided. In one embodiment, the method may comprisemaintaining a plurality of user profiles, each of the profiles beingassociated with a user of a mobile electronic device, collecting, via afirst mobile electronic device associated with a first user, other userdata, the other user data being associated with at least one or moreothers users of the mobile electronic devices, not including the firstuser, providing the other user data to a maintainer of the plurality ofuser profiles, and compensating the first user for at least one of thecollecting the other user data step and the providing the other userdata step. In one approach, the method may include the steps of enablingaccess, by the first user, to at least a portion of the user profileinformation of other users, allowing the first user to update the userprofile information of the other users, and compensating the first userfor updating the user profile information of the other users.

In another aspect, methods for presenting a media display opportunityare provided. In one embodiment a method includes the steps ofcollecting electronic data from a plurality of electronic devices, eachof the electronic devices being associated with a user, maintaining aplurality of user profiles for each user of the electronic devices, eachof the user profiles comprising user profile information that is basedon collected electronic data, reviewing the plurality of user profiles,locating one or more media display opportunities based on the reviewingstep, and presenting the media display opportunity to at least onevendor. In one approach, the method includes the steps of receiving oneor more offers from at least one vendor for a right to present media,accepting at least one offer from at least one vendor, and causingpresentation of media to at least one media output device co-locatedwith a user, where the media is related to the vendor(s) whose offer(s)was/were selected, and where the user is associated with one of theplurality of user profiles. In one approach, the reviewing the pluralityof user profiles step includes the steps of correlating the electronicdata of the plurality of user profiles to metadata associated with mediaof a media inventory and selecting at least one user profile based onthe correlation. In one approach, the media display opportunitycomprises information relating to at least one of the user's currentlocation, the user's predicted future location, the user's predictedfuture activities, and the user's preferences. In one approach, themethod includes the steps of determining that at least one user isco-located with the at least one vendor and, after or concomitant to thedetermining step, completing the reviewing, locating and presentingsteps.

As may be appreciated, various ones of the inventive aspects, approachesand embodiments described above may be combined to yield various systemsand methods for presenting media. Furthermore, these and other aspects,advantages, and novel features of the invention are set forth in part inthe description that follows and will become apparent to those skilledin the art upon examination of the following description and figures, ormay be learned by practicing the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mediadelivery system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mobileelectronic device including a data gathering module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a managementmodule of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a user profileof FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of datacollection system useful with a media delivery system.

FIG. 6 a is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mediadelivery system utilizing a mobile electronic device.

FIG. 6 b is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mediadelivery system utilizing a mobile electronic device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mediadelivery system utilizing a mobile electronic device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mediadelivery system employing a peer-to-peer network.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a mediadelivery system for a plurality of users.

FIG. 10 a is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forpresenting media.

FIG. 10 b is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forfacilitating collection of data.

FIG. 10 c is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forfacilitating collection of data.

FIG. 10 d is a schematic view illustrating one embodiment of a datagathering preferences section of a data gathering module.

FIG. 10 e is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forfacilitating collection of data.

FIG. 10 f is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forsharing and collecting user information.

FIG. 10 g is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forreceiving compensation by enabling access to user profiles.

FIG. 10 h is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forauthenticating third party data.

FIG. 10 i is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forreceiving compensation by sharing access to user profiles.

FIG. 10 j is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forpresenting media display opportunities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the accompanying drawings, whichat least assist in illustrating various pertinent embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system for delivering media. Thesystem 1 includes a data gathering module 10, a management module 20, auser profile 30, and a media output device 40. The data gathering module10 collects electronic data, communicates with the management module 20,and provides the electronic data to the management module 20. Themanagement module 20 receives the electronic data from the datagathering module 10 and manages a user profile 30. As discussed infurther detail below, the user profile 30 generally includes at leastsome of the collected electronic data. The management module 20 alsocommunicates with the media output device 40, which is capable ofoutputting selected media (M) (e.g., a visual and/or audio message) forconsumption by a user (e.g., for viewing and/or hearing).

The data gathering module 10 gathers electronic data, generally by beingresident on an electronic device. As discussed in further detail below,the data gathering module 10 may interface with various other modules ofthe electronic device to collect data associated with the electronicdevice. For example, the data gathering module 10 may actively and/orpassively gather electronic data associated with use of the electronicdevice. One example of actively gathered data includes data gathered dueto interaction between a user and the electronic device, referred toherein as interaction data. One example of passively gathered dataincludes data gathered irrespective of user interaction with theelectronic device. For example, spatial data and/or temporal data may bepassively collected during transport of a mobile electronic device, suchas a mobile phone.

One embodiment of an electronic device including a data gathering moduleis illustrated in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the electronic device is amobile electronic device 50, such as a mobile phone, a mobile emaildevice, a mobile portable digital assistant, or a laptop computer, toname a few. The mobile electronic device 50 includes a spatial module52, a temporal module 54, and one or more other module(s) 56 that maycommunicate with the data gathering module 10. The spatial module 52,temporal module 54 and other module(s) 56 may be pre-existing componentsof the mobile electronic device. The data gathering module 10 mayinterface with these modules (e.g., via an application programinterface) to facilitate the communication. The spatial module 52 maycommunicate spatial data to the data gathering module 10, the temporalmodule 54 may communicate temporal data to the data gathering module 10,and the other module(s) 56 may communicate other data, such asinteraction data to the data gathering module 10. As discussed infurther detail below, any one of the spatial module 52, temporal module54 and/or other module(s) may be integrated with the data gatheringmodule 10.

One notable aspect of this embodiment is that the data gathering module10 may communicate with the spatial module 52, the temporal module 54,and/or the other module(s) 56, irrespective of whether the mobileelectronic device 50 is being used by the user and/or irrespective ofwhether the mobile electronic device 50 is in communication with anetwork. Thus, the data gathering module 10 may collect a plurality oftypes of data of the mobile electronic device 50, irrespective of userinteraction with the device and irrespective of whether the mobileelectronic device 50 is in communication with the network. Thus,substantial amounts of spatial, temporal and other data may be collectedand later communicated to the management module 20, thereby facilitatingmanagement and production of the user profile 30.

The spatial module 52 may be any hardware and/or software adapted tocommunicate spatial data. For example, the spatial module 52 may be amodule operable to communicate location coordinates associated with themobile electronic device 50. In one embodiment, the spatial module 52may include general packet radio service (GPRS) hardware and/orsoftware.

The temporal module 54 may be any hardware and/or software operable tocommunicate temporal data (e.g., time stamps). In one embodiment, thetemporal module 54 utilizes a local clock to communicate the temporaldata. In another embodiment, the temporal module 54 uses a network-basedclock to communicate temporal data.

The other module(s) 56 may be any other hardware and/or softwareassociated with the mobile electronic device 50, such as a communicationmodule (e.g., a short message service (SMS), an email and/or a voicemodule), a media-related module (e.g., a word processor, an Internetbrowser, an audio playback module, and an imaging module, such as aphotographic device), and the like.

The data gathering module 10 may be any hardware and/or softwareoperable to gather data collected by the modules of the mobileelectronic device 50. In one embodiment, the data gathering module 10mainly comprises software operable to communicate with modules of themobile electronic device 50 without requiring user interaction, and thusmay act as a background agent of the mobile electronic device 50,gathering, in the background of operation of the mobile electronicdevice, data produced by the mobile electronic device 50.

The data gathering module 10 may be preloaded on and/or downloaded tothe mobile electronic device 50 (e.g., such as via server or apeer-to-peer network). To facilitate collection of uniquely identifiabledata, which may be used to maintain the user profile 30, each datagathering module 10 may comprise a unique identifier. This uniqueidentifier may be used in conjunction with the collected data tofacilitate identification of a unique user and maintenance of a uniqueuser profile 30 based thereon.

As discussed in further detail below, the data gathering module 10 maybe a separate module from any of the other modules of the system 1, orthe data gathering module 10 may be integrated with one or more modulesof the system 1. For example, and as discussed in further detail below,the data gathering module 10 may be integrated with the managementmodule 20 to facilitate delivery of media to the media output device 40.

In another embodiment (not illustrated), the data gathering module 10may be located on a non-mobile electronic device, such as a set-top box,a predominately stationary computer (e.g., a desktop computer or aserver), an electronic vending device (e.g., a food and/or beveragedispensing machine), or an electronic billboard, to name a few. In thisregard, the data gathering module 10 may interact with the modules ofthose devices similar to the interaction described above with respect tothe mobile electronic device 50.

As noted above, the management module 20 receives electronic data fromthe data gathering module (e.g., via wireless communication) and managesthe user profile 30 (e.g., creates and/or updates the user profile 30).One embodiment of a management module 20 is illustrated in FIG. 3. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the management module 20 includes a profilemanagement module 22, a media presentation module 24, and may optionallyinclude a media inventory 26, which may comprise a database of media andmetadata associated therewith. The profile management module 22 receivesthe electronic data from the data gathering module 10 and manages atleast one user profile 30 based on the electronic data. For example, andas discussed in further detail below, the profile management module 22may update the user profile 30 with the received data and/or maycorrelate the received data to deduce at least a portion of the userprofile 30.

The media presentation module 24 utilizes at least a portion of the userprofile 30 to facilitate selection of media for presentation to a user.In one approach, and as discussed in further detail below, the mediapresentation module 24 may correlate data of the user profile 30 anddata associated with the media of the media inventory 26 to locatepotential targeted advertising opportunities. In turn, the mediapresentation module 24 may present these opportunities to one or morethird parties (e.g., one or more vendors), who may provide compensationfor the right to present media to the users associated with selecteduser profiles. By way of illustration, the media presentation module 24may review the user profiles to determine which users may have aninterest in purchasing one or more goods or services. In turn, the mediapresentation module 24 may present a concomitant media displayopportunity to one or more vendors, who may bid for the right to displaytargeted media to one or more of the users. For example, the mediapresentation module 24 may determine, based on the user profiles, thatone or more users often purchase coffee on their way to work. In turn,the media presentation module 24 may notify one or more vendors (e.g.,STARBUCKS, PEABODY COFFEE, PEET'S COFFEE) of the potential coffeeadvertising opportunity. Those vendors may then bid for the right toprovide a context-based targeted media display opportunity to the uservia the media output device 40. For example, the vendors may bid for theright to display a coffee advertisement or coupon to the users duringthe times that those users normally purchase coffee and with respect tolocations that those users normally frequent, such as determined usingone or more of spatial data, temporal data and interaction data. Uponreceiving a winning bid, the media display module 24 may present theappropriate media for display via the media output device 40.

In another approach, and as discussed in further detail below, the mediapresentation module 24 may receive a request from one or more thirdparties to provide user profiles having certain demographiccharacteristics. The media presentation module 24 may filter the userprofiles in accordance with the requested demographic characteristics,and, in turn, may provide at least a portion of those filtered userprofiles to the third party for further processing. In one embodiment,the third party is a vendor who selects one or more user profiles towhich to deliver targeted media. In a particular embodiment, the thirdparty may compensate the maintainer of the user profiles in return foraccess to the user profiles and/or a right to present the targetedmedia.

As noted, the profile management module 22 receives electronic data fromthe data gathering module 10 and manages the user profile 30. Oneembodiment of a user profile 30 is illustrated in FIG. 4. In theillustrated embodiment, the user profile 30 includes at least a portionof the electronic device data 12, which generally includes spatial data14, temporal data 15, and interaction data 16. The user profile 30 mayalso optionally include, and generally does include, deduced information17. The deduced information 17 is information that may be deduced basedon at least one of the spatial data 14, the temporal data 15, and theinteraction data 16. For example, and as discussed in further detailbelow, the profile management module 22 may correlate data of thespatial data 14, the temporal data 15 and/or the interaction data 16 todeduce the deduced information. By way of illustration, and as discussedin further detail below, the profile management module 22 may correlatetemporal data (e.g., time of day) with spatial data (e.g., location) todetermine a primary user location (e.g., a residence) and/or a secondaryuser location (e.g., a work location or a school location).

The spatial data 14 may be any data associated with a location of theuser and/or an electronic device. For example, the spatial data 14 mayinclude any passively collected location data, such as cell tower data,GPRS data, global positioning service (GPS) data, WI-FI data, personalarea network data, IP address data and data from other network accesspoints, or actively collected location data, such as location dataentered by the user. The spatial data 14 may also include weather dataassociated with various locations.

The temporal data 15 is time based data (e.g., time stamps) that relateto specific times and/or events associated with a user and/or theelectronic device. For example, the temporal data 15 may be passivelycollected time data (e.g., time data from a clock resident on theelectronic device, or time data from a network clock), or the temporaldata 15 may be actively collected time data, such as time data enteredby the user of the electronic device (e.g., a user maintained calendar).

The interaction data 16 may be any data associated with user interactionof the electronic device, whether active or passive. Examples ofinteraction data 16 include interpersonal communication data, mediadata, relationship data, transactional data and device interaction data,all of which are described in further detail below. Table 1, below, is anon-exhaustive list including examples of electronic data.

TABLE 1 Examples of Electronic Data Spatial Data Temporal DataInteraction Data Cell tower data Time stamps Interpersonal GPRS dataLocal clock communication data GPS data Network clock Media data WiFidata User input of Relationship data Personal area network data timedata Transactional data Network access points data Device interactiondata User input of location data Geo-coordinates data

With respect to the interaction data 16, interpersonal communicationdata may include any data that is received from or sent by theelectronic device and that is intended as a communication to or from theuser. For example, the interpersonal communication data may be any dataassociated with an incoming or outgoing SMS message, email message,voice call (e.g., a cell phone call, a voice over IP call), or othertype of interpersonal communication relative to the electronic device,such as information regarding who is sending and receiving theinterpersonal communication(s). As described below, interpersonalcommunication data may be correlated with, for example, temporal data 15to deduce information regarding frequency of communications, includingconcentrated communication patterns, which may indicate user activityinformation.

Media data may include any data relating to presentable media, such asaudio data, visual data, and audiovisual data. For example, the audiodata may be data relating to downloaded music, such as genre, artist,album and the like, and includes data regarding ringtones, ringbacks,media purchased, playlists, and media shared, to name a few. The visualdata may be data relating to images and/or text received by theelectronic device (e.g., via the Internet or other network). The visualdata may be data relating to images and/or text sent from and/orcaptured at the electronic device. The audiovisual data may be dataassociated with any videos captured at, downloaded to, or otherwiseassociated with the electronic device. The media data includes mediapresented to the user via a network, such as use of the Internet, andincludes data relating to text entered and/or received by the user usingthe network (e.g., search terms), and interaction with the networkmedia, such as click data (e.g., advertisement banner clicks, bookmarks,click patterns and the like). Thus, the media data may include datarelating to the user's RSS feeds, subscriptions, group memberships, gameservices, alerts, and the like. The media data also includes non-networkactivity, such as image capture and/or video capture using an electronicdevice, such as a mobile phone. The image data may include metadataadded by the user, or other data associated with the image, such as,with respect to photos, location when the photos were taken, directionof the shot, content of the shot, and time of day, to name a few. Asdescribed in further detail below, media data may be used, for example,to deduce activities information or preferences information, such ascultural and/or buying preferences information.

The relationship data may include data relating to the relationships ofthe user of an electronic device. For example, the relationship data mayinclude user identity data, such as gender, age, race, name, socialsecurity number, photographs and other information associated with theuser's identity. User identity information may also include e-mailaddresses, login names and passwords. The relationship data may alsoinclude social network data. Social network data includes data relatingto any relation of the user of the electronic device that is input bythe user, such as data relating to a user's friends, family, co-workers,business relations, and the like. Social network data may include, forexample, data corresponding with a user-maintained electronic addressbook. Relationship data may be correlated with, for example, locationdata to deduce social network information, such as primary relationships(e.g., user-spouse, user-children and user-parent relationships) orother relationships (e.g., user-friends, user-co-worker, user-businessassociate relationships). Relationship data also may be utilized todeduce, for example, activities information.

The interaction data 16 may also include transactional data. Thetransactional data may be any data associated with commercialtransactions undertaken by or at the mobile electronic device, such asvendor information, financial institution information (e.g., bankinformation), financial account information (e.g., credit cardinformation), merchandise information and costs/prices information, andpurchase frequency information, to name a few. The transactional datamay be utilized, for example, to deduce activities and preferencesinformation. The transactional information may also be used to deducetypes of devices and/or services the user owns and/or in which the usermay have an interest.

The interaction data 16 may also include device interaction data. Deviceinteraction data may be any data relating to a user's interaction withthe electronic device not included in any of the above categories, suchas habitual patterns associated with use of an electronic device data ofother modules/applications, such as data regarding which applicationsare used on the electronic device and how often and when thoseapplications are used. As described in further detail below, deviceinteraction data may be correlated with temporal data to deduceinformation regarding user activities and patterns associated therewith.Table 2, below, is a non-exhaustive list including examples ofinteraction data.

TABLE 2 Examples of Interaction Data Type of Data Example(s)Interpersonal Text-based communications, such as SMS communication dataand e-mail Audio-based communications, such as voice calls, voice notes,voice mail Media-based communications, such as multimedia messagingservice (MMS) communications Unique identifiers associated with acommunication, such as phone numbers, e- mail addresses, and networkaddresses Media data Audio data, such as music data (artist, genre,track, album, etc.) Visual data, such as any text, images and videodata, including Internet data, picture data, podcast data and playlistdata Network interaction data, such as click patterns and channelviewing patterns Relationship data User identifying information, such asname, age, gender, race, and social security number Social network dataTransactional data Vendors Financial accounts, such as credit cards andbanks data Type of merchandise/services purchased Cost of purchasesInventory of purchases Device Any data not captured above dealing withinteraction data user interaction of the device, such as patterns of useof the device, applications utilized, and so forth

As noted above, the user profile 30 may include deduced information 17.The deduced information 17 may be deduced based on the electronic devicedata 12, such as deduced based on one or more of the spatial data 14,temporal data 15 and/or interaction data 16. The deduced information 17may thus include information relating to deduced locations and/ordeduced activities of the user. For example, the deduced information 17may comprise one or more of a primary user location, secondary userlocation, past locations, present location, and predicted futurelocation information. The deduced information 17 may include informationdeduced based on a correlation of spatial data 14 in conjunction withtemporal data 15 to deduce such location data. By way of illustration,the data gathering module 10 may transmit spatial data 14 and/ortemporal data 15 to the management module 20. The management module 20may thus correlate the spatial data 14 and/or temporal data 15 todetermine that a user of a mobile electronic device is often at one ormore specific locations during certain hours of the day. In a particularembodiment, the management module 20 may correlate the spatial data 14and temporal data 15 to determine a primary user location (e.g., home),a secondary location (e.g., school or work) and/or other locations.

The deduced information 17 may also include activity information, suchas past activity information, present activity information, andpredicted future activity information. In this regard, the past,present, or predicted future activity information may includeinformation relating to past communications and/or co-locations withother users. By way of primary example, the profile management module 22may correlate spatial data with temporal data 15 to determine a user'sactivities (e.g., work, recreation, and/or home activities). By way ofsecondary example, interaction data 16 (e.g., social network data) maybe correlated to determine a user's activities and predicted futureactivities. Predicted future activity information may include variousday-to-day activities of the user, and also may include search querypredictions, likely user interface actions, such as likely clicks,likely text input, likely speech, and others. The predicted futureactivity information may also include likely recipients ofcommunications and/or content creation information.

The deduced information 17 may also include preferences information. Thepreferences information may include cultural preferences and/or buyingpreferences information. The cultural preferences information may be anypreferences information relating to the culture of the user, such asgender preferences, ethnicity preferences, religious preferences and/orartistic preferences, to name a few. The buying preferences may be anypreferences associated with the buying habits of the user.

The deduced information 17 may also include social network information.The social network information may include past, current and suggesteduser-to-user relationships information (e.g., primary relationships). Inthis regard, the social network information may be deduced based on theinterpersonal communication data and/or social network data. Socialnetwork information can also include saved proximity of others, whichcan provide the basis for peer-to-peer services, such as automaticcomparison of preferences information, which may facilitate suggestionof activities or locations that users may commonly prefer.

The deduced information 17 may include information that overlaps withthe electronic device data 12. For example, a user's social network mayinclude data that is both received from the data gathering module 10(e.g., user address book data) and also may include deduced informationbased on the electronic device data 12 (e.g., deduced relationship datadue to multiple interpersonal communications with one or more otherusers).

Other data 18 may also be used to produce the deduced information 17.For example, data from other sources 19, such as other electronicdevices, other user profiles and other software and/or hardwareapplications may be associated with the electronic device and this otherdata may be used to facilitate deduction of the deduced information 17.By way of illustration, the other data 18 may be data associated withthe user profile 30, but captured from another electronic device, suchas another mobile electronic device or another stationary electronicdevice. In one approach, the management module 20 may correlate uniqueidentifiers of the other sources (e.g., a physical address, a phonenumber and/or a social security number) with unique identifiers of theuser profile 30 to determine whether the other data 18 should beutilized with the user profile 30.

One embodiment of a system for collecting the other data 18 from othersources and for authenticating such collected other data 18 isillustrated in FIG. 5. In the illustrated embodiment, a managementmodule 20, such as described above, manages a user profile 30 based ondata about a user 500. As described above, the management module 20 mayreceive data from a mobile electronic device 502 via a network 540, suchas via transmission of electronic device data to a maintainer of theuser profile 30 via the Internet. The management module 20 may managethe user profile 30 based on such received data. In another approach,the data collected at the mobile electronic device 502 is passed to amobile service provider (not illustrated), who receives the collecteddata and passes it to the management module 20 (e.g., via the Internet).

An authenticator 525 may be utilized to authenticate informationreceived from a mobile electronic device 502 via the network 540. Inthis regard, the authenticator may compare information received from themobile electronic device 502 (e.g., the phone number associated with themobile electronic device 502) to authenticating information (e.g., useridentity information, described above, such as a known phone number foruser 500) to authenticate the received data and associate it with user500. Once authenticated, the received data may be provided to themanagement module 20.

The authenticator 525 may be any suitable hardware and/or software thatfacilitates receipt of data and authentication of at least one of thedata and the provider of the data. For example, the authenticator 525may be a computerized device (e.g., an application server utilizing anapplication program interface (API)) capable of communicating with othercomputerized devices via the Internet. The authenticator 525 may beintegrated with the management module 20, the data gathering module 10and/or the user profile, or may be a separate component.

In a related approach, data from a business, such as a televisionsubscription service (e.g., COMCAST) or another audio-visual viewingservice (e.g., YOUTUBE.com), for viewing at a television 524 or similardisplay by the user 500 may be provided to the management module 20 viaa network 542. For example, data relating to the user's viewing habits,current viewing activity and/or interaction with the viewing service maybe provided to the management module 20 via the network 542 and theauthenticator 525. In one approach, viewing data is collected by theviewing service provider and is provided to the management module 20 bythe viewing service provider. In another approach, viewing data iscollected directly by the management module 20 via the network 542 andauthenticator 525, such as when the audio-visual services are providedvia the Internet. The collected data may be authenticated viaauthenticator 525 to ensure that the received data is related to theuser 500. For example, the authenticator may compare a signal address(e.g., an IP address or set-top box identifier) to authenticatinginformation (e.g., a known IP address range or set-top box address ofthe user 500) to authenticate the received data and associate it withthe user 500. Once authenticated, the data may be provided to themanagement module 20 for further processing.

In a further related approach, data from the user's interaction with acomputerized device may be provided. For example, the user 500 mayinteract with various web-sites of the Internet 544 using a graphicaluser interface (GUI) 528 and a computer 526. The GUI 528 may compriseuse of an Internet browser, such as FIREFOX and/or INTERNET EXPLORER,for instance. During interaction with a web-site, the user 500 mayprovide information that enables a web-site provider 548 (e.g., anon-line merchant) to authenticate the user, such as the user's name,physical address, IP address, transactional data (e.g. financialinstitution account information), a login/password system, a smart card,to name a few. The web-site provider 548 may also collect data about theuser 500 while the user 500 utilizes the provider's web site 548, suchas browsing habits and click data, to name two, and possibly informationabout the user's interaction with other sites (e.g., view review ofcookies). For example, the web-site provider 548 may collect one or moreof spatial data, location data, and interaction data, such asinterpersonal communication data, media data, relationship data and/ortransactional data. Since the user 500 has been identified, thecollected data can be readily associated with the user 500 and thus maybe utilized by the management module 20 to manage the user profile 30.Hence, the web-site provider 548 may provide such information to themanagement module 20 via the authenticator 525, such as via theInternet. The provided information may be authenticated by comparing atleast some of the provided information (e.g., the physical addresssubmitted by the user) to authenticating information (e.g., a knownphysical address for user 500) to authenticate the provided data. Onceauthenticated, the data may be provided to management module 20 forfurther processing. In another approach, the web-site provider 548itself may be authenticated (e.g., via a digital certificate) and, onceauthenticated, information may be provided to the management module 20for further review and processing. In one embodiment, information isprovided in a structured manner to facilitate the management module's 20review and management of the information. Thus, a user profile 30 may bereadily updated using third party data without requiring a literalintegration between the management module 20 and the third party.

In another approach, and with reference back to FIG. 4, a user mayproactively update his/her user profile with the other data 18. In oneembodiment, the other data is user profile data of another entity, suchas a business entity that maintains its own user profile information. Inanother embodiment, the other data is data available from a publicinformation source, such as government records and the like.

Table 3, below, is a non-exhaustive list including examples of deducedinformation and possible methods of deriving the deduced information.

TABLE 3 Examples of Deduced Information Type of Deduced InformationPrimary Correlation(s) Secondary Correlation(s) Past location Spatialdata Temporal data information Interaction data Any combination ofspatial. temporal and interaction data Use of other deduced informationPresent Spatial data Temporal data location Interaction data informationAny combination of spatial, temporal and interaction data Use of otherdeduced information Predicted Spatial + temporal Temporal data futuredata Spatial data location Spatial + interaction Interaction datainformation data Any combination of spatial, temporal and interactiondata Use of other deduced information Past activity Spatial + temporalTemporal data information data Spatial data Spatial + interactionInteraction data data Any combination of spatial, temporal andinteraction data Use of other deduced information Present Spatial +temporal Temporal data activity data Spatial data information Spatial +interaction Interaction data data Any combination of spatial, temporaland interaction data Use of other deduced information PredictedSpatial + temporal Temporal data future data Spatial data activitySpatial + interaction Interaction data information data Any combinationof spatial, temporal and interaction data Use of other deducedinformation Preferences Spatial + temporal Temporal data informationdata Spatial data Interaction data Use of other deduced Interaction +temporal information data Interaction + spatial data Interaction +spatial + temporal data Social Interaction data Temporal data networkInteraction + spatial Spatial data information data Any combination ofspatial, temporal and interaction data Use of other deduced informationA primary correlation refers to a likely method of deducing the listedtype of deduced information. A secondary correlation refers to othermethods of deducing deduced information. For example, present locationinformation will likely be deduced based on the spatial data, but couldbe deduced using interaction data (e.g., a calendar input by the user).

As noted above, the user profile 30 may include at least some electronicdevice data 12 and may also include deduced information 17. Since one ormore of these data may be correlated due to the data capturing abilityof the data gathering module 10, the user profile 30 may include a richset of data, which can be broadly categorized as: past locationinformation, present location information, predicted future locationinformation, primary user location information, secondary user locationinformation, tertiary user location information (and so on), pastactivities information, present activities information, predicted futureactivities information, preferences information (e.g., cultural and/orbuying preferences information), and social network information (e.g.,primary relationships, secondary relationships, and so on). Theseinformation categories are non-limiting and may overlap. For example,present activities information may include present location information.In another example, the social network information may assist withcultural preferences information (e.g., the user has many relationsbetween the ages of 18 and 25, is primarily located in an urban area andthus may be amenable to a coupon to a dance club). In another example,the cultural preferences information may assist with buying preferencesinformation (e.g., the user prefers Asian food and thus might beamenable to receipt of a coupon to an Asian restaurant).

Referring back to FIG. 3, as noted above, the media presentation module24 facilitates selection of media for presentation to the media outputdevice 40 based on the user profile 30. In one approach, the mediapresentation module 24 may compare media in the media inventory 26 toone or more user profiles, either by request or automatically. When thecomparison justifies the presentation of the media, such as based onvarious economic and demographic factors, the media presentation module24 may select the media for presentation via the media output device 40.In one approach, the media presentation module 24 may edit, compose,transform, reformat and/or transcode the media, to name a few, tocorrespond with the desired output parameters of the media output device40. Thus, the media presentation module 24 may utilize at least aportion of the user profile 30 to facilitate selection of media forpresentation to a media output device 40 associated with the userprofile 30.

Any trigger may be utilized to initiate the selection of the media. Forexample, the media presentation module 24 may continuously correlatedata of various user profiles to data associated with the media of themedia inventory 26 to locate potential targeted advertisingopportunities. In turn, the media presentation module 24 may presentthese opportunities to one or more third parties (e.g., one or morevendors), who may provide compensation for the right to present media tothe users associated with selected user profiles. The trigger may be agiven context trigger, such as a time trigger, an event trigger or placetrigger, to name a few. The trigger may be a given content trigger, suchas a trigger associated with clearing, accessing, viewing, editingand/or production of a given price of media. The trigger may be a socialtrigger, such as the co-location and/or communication with a givenperson or persons or type of person or persons. The trigger may be acommerce trigger, such as the occurrence of a specific type ofcommercial transaction. One or more of the above described triggers maybe utilized, and in any combination, to trigger the comparison of theuser profiles with the media inventory 26.

In another approach, the trigger may be a request from one or more thirdparties to provide user profiles having certain demographiccharacteristics. The media presentation module 24 may filter the userprofiles in accordance with the requested demographic characteristics.In one embodiment, the media presentation module may utilize apre-selected media and provide that media to one or more media outputdevices 40 associated with the filtered user profiles. In anotherembodiment, the media presentation module 24 may provide at least aportion of those filtered user profiles to the third party for furtherprocessing. In a related embodiment, the third party is a vendor whoselects one or more user profiles to which to deliver targeted media,and in a particular embodiment, the third party may compensate themaintainer of the user profiles to present that targeted media.

In one embodiment, user attention to media is facilitated byautomatically outputting media (e.g., factual media, such as currentlocation, weather, time and the like) from time-to-time, such as byautomatically displaying media, thereby possibly increasing the user'sattentiveness to output media. This automatic output media may increasethe likelihood that the user will be attentive to and consume (e.g.,view and/or hear) other media, such as advertisements, coupons and thelike. For example, media that includes periodic summaries (e.g., daily,weekly, hourly, etc.) of the user's activities may be provided topromote attentiveness to displayed or otherwise outputted media.

The media presentation module 24 may select media based on theelectronic device data 12 and/or the deduced information 17. In oneapproach, a dynamic media display opportunity analysis is completed,wherein the media presentation module 24 correlates data of the userprofile 30 and data associated with the media of the media inventory 26to locate media display opportunities. In turn, the media presentationmodule 24 may present these opportunities to one or more third parties(e.g., one or more vendors), who may provide compensation for the rightto present media to the users associated with selected user profiles.

In a related approach, the media presentation module may compare data ofone or more user profiles to metadata of media within the mediainventory 26 and selects appropriate media based thereon. For example,the media presentation module 24 may receive a plurality of userprofiles and select those profiles related to females between the agesof 18 and 25 who have purchased songs in the R&B genre in the last 90days. The media presentation module 24 may select media relating to afuture R&B concert based on those user profiles and present that mediato one or more of the users associated with the user profiles.

The media presentation module 24 may also facilitate tracking of userresponse to presented media. User response to presented media may betracked via user response data, which may be categorized underinteraction data, and this user response data may be provided to theprofile management module 22 to facilitate updating the new profile 30based thereon (e.g., updating the preferences information). The datagathering module 10 may also assist with or complete these functions.

The media presentation module 24 may format the media for any outputdevice, such as a display, and in one embodiment the media may utilize asubstantial portion of the display so as to better present the media. Inthis regard, the data gathering module 10 may facilitate the display ofthe media by overriding other display requirements.

The media presentation module 24 may include a transmission module (notillustrated) that transmits a selected media to the media output device40. The transmission module may utilize any form of communication, knownor developed, to transmit the media to the media output device 40.

The profile management module 22, the media presentation module 24and/or the media inventory 26 may be distinct modules, such as separatesoftware, and may be located at different locations. For example, afirst server may include the profile management module 22 and a secondserver may include the media presentation module 24. The profilemanagement module 22, the media presentation module 24 and/or the mediainventory 26 may, alternatively, be co-located on a single electronicdevice, and in one embodiment may be integrated within that singleelectronic device (e.g., a mobile electronic device). In one embodiment,the media presentation module 24 and/or media inventory 26 may beco-located on the electronic device with the data gathering module 10,and the media presentation module 24 may cache the selected media toensure media presentation to avoid a display latency penalty. As notedabove, any of these modules may also be integrated with the datagathering module 10, such as when any one of the modules are anelectronic device associated with the data gathering module 10.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the media output device 40communicates with the media presentation module 24 and outputs theselected media. The media may be audio, visual and/or audiovisual media,such as text, graphics, animation, or an audio message, to name a few,and may be interactive. The media may also include other sensorymessages, such as vibrations, smells, tastes and the like. The media mayinclude advertisements, coupons, and entertainment, to name a few.

The media output device 40 may be a display associated with the userprofile 30, such as a display of a mobile electronic device or a similardevice co-located with the user, such as a television, a computer, and abillboard, to name a few. The media output device 40 may automaticallyoutput (e.g., display) the selected media without user interaction.Thus, in one embodiment, no user interaction is required for output ofthe media (i.e., the media is displayed in the absence of userinteraction with the media output device).

Referring now to FIG. 6 a, one embodiment of a system for deliveringmedia to a mobile electronic device is illustrated. The system includesa mobile electronic device 502 (e.g., a mobile phone) that includes adata gathering module 10. The mobile electronic device 502 maycommunicate with a remote server 508, for example, via an applicationprogram interface (“API”) 518. As described above, the data gatheringmodule 10 may gather electronic device data associated with the mobileelectronic device 502. In this regard, the data gathering module 10 maycommunicate with one or more modules of the mobile electronic device502, such as a spatial module 52, a temporal module 54 or othermodule(s) 56. The mobile electronic device 502 may have a uniqueidentifier, for example, a unique phone number or a uniquely identifieddata gathering module 10, which facilitates correlating the collecteddata to a user 500 of the mobile electronic device.

At predetermined intervals, or as requested by the remote server 508 orby the mobile electronic device 502, the data gathering module 10 mayupload electronic device data to the remote server 508 for furtherprocessing. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the remote server 508may act as a profile management module, as described above, and maymaintain a user profile 30 a associated with the user 500 of the mobileelectronic device 502. As described above, this user profile 30 a mayinclude at least some of the electronic device data and may includededuced information.

The remote server 508 may communicate with a media server 512. In thisregard, an API 518 may be utilized to facilitate communication betweenthe remote server 508 and the media server 512. Thus, the remote server508 is capable of providing at least a portion of the user profile 30 ato the media server 512. The media server 512 may utilize at least aportion of the user profile 30 a to facilitate selection of media fromthe media inventory 26. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the mediaserver 512 may act as a media presentation module, as described above.

After receipt of at least a portion of the user profile 30 a, the mediaserver 512 may select one or more media from the media inventory 26 forpresentation to the mobile electronic device 502. For example, the mediaserver 512 may compare data associated with the user profile 30 a todata associated with media of the media inventory 26 to facilitateselection of targeted media for delivery to the user 500 of the mobileelectronic device 502. Upon selection of one or more targeted media fromthe media inventory 26, the media server 512 may facilitate presentationof targeted media to the mobile electronic device 502, such as viatransmission to the mobile electronic device 502.

In a related embodiment, at least a portion of the user profile 30 b maybe located on the mobile electronic device 502 to facilitate directpresentation of targeted media to the mobile electronic device 502 viathe media server 512. For example, when the mobile electronic device 502is co-located with the media server 512, the media server 512 and/ormobile electronic device 502 may recognize such co-location (e.g., via apersonal area network communication, such as BLUETOOTH communication).In turn, the media server 512 may receive at least a portion of the userprofile 30 b to facilitate selection of delivery of media to the mobileelectronic device 502. As provided above, the media server 512 mayutilize data of the user profile 30 b to compare to media of the mediainventory 514 and transmit appropriate targeted media to the mobileelectronic device 502. For example, the media server 512 may communicatea targeted advertisement and/or targeted coupon to the mobile electronicdevice 502 based on at least a portion of the user profile 30 b.

In another related embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 6 b, a user500 associated with the mobile electronic device 502 may visit a vendor518. Data gathered via the data gathering module (not illustrated) maybe communicated to a management module 20 indicating that the user 500is co-located with the vendor 518. The management module 20 may comparedata of a user profile 30 that corresponds with the user 500 and mayselect appropriate targeted media for delivery to an media output deviceco-located with the user 500. For example, the media may be output to adisplay of the mobile electronic device 502. In another instance, themedia may be presented to one or more other displays co-located with theuser, such as a billboard, television, computer, and the like. The mediamay be, for example, an advertisement, a coupon, or other invitation todo business with the vendor 518. In the illustrated embodiment, themanagement module 20 is located proximal the vendor 518, such as on aserver co-located with the vendor 518. However, the management module 20may be located remote from the vendor 518. Also, portions of themanagement module 20 may be split and located at different locations.For example, a profile management module 22 may be located remote fromthe vendor 518, and a media presentation module 24 may be co-locatedwith the vendor 518.

As described above, one or more of spatial data, temporal data,interaction data, and/or deduced information may be utilized tofacilitate selection of media for delivery to the user 500 of the mobileelectronic device 502. For example, spatial data may include currentlocation data so that the media presentation module 24 may determine oneor more vendors proximally located with the user 500 of the mobileelectronic device 502. Temporal data may be utilized to indicate thetime at which the user is proximal the vendors 518. Deduced information,such as past activity information, past location information,preferences information, and social network information may be utilizedto facilitate selection of an appropriate media for presentation to theuser 500 of the mobile electronic device 502. In one embodiment,cultural preferences and/or buying preferences information are utilizedby the media presentation module 24 to facilitate presentation of mediato the user 500 of the mobile electronic device 502. In anotherembodiment, relationship data, such as social network information, maybe utilized to facilitate presentation of media to the user 500 of themobile electronic device 502. For example, the media presentation module24 may determine that two or more users are co-located (e.g., viacurrent location data). In turn, the media presentation may compare theuser profiles associated with each of the users and present media to oneor more of the co-located users based thereon (e.g., based onadvertisement). Many combinations of data are possible for producingdeduced information and/or selecting media, and all such combinationsare within the scope and spirit of the instant invention.

The user profile 30 may be utilized to facilitate delivery of media tomore than one electronic device. For example, and with reference to FIG.7, a user 500 may be associated with a mobile electronic device 502. Theuser 500 may also be associated with one or more other electronicdevices, such as a television 524 and/or a computer 526. In this regard,the management module 20 may be able to associate these other electronicdevices with the user profile 30 via, for example, electronic dataassociated with such electronic devices (e.g., set-top box locationinformation received from a business entity) and/or via deduction usingelectronic device data and/or other deduced information. In oneinstance, the user profile 30 may include primary location information,as described above, indicating that the user 500 is primarily locatedwithin a certain geographic vicinity. The management module 20 mayreceive data from other electronic devices and/or vendors associatedwith such electronic devices, indicating a similar geographicalvicinity. Thus, the management module 20 may deduce that one or more ofthose electronic devices are associated with the user 500 of the mobileelectronic device 502 and update the user profile 30 to indicate such.

In the illustrated embodiment, the management module 20 may determine acurrent location of the user 500, such as via spatial data (e.g.,present location information) or deduced information (e.g., predictedfuture location information). Upon determining a likely location of theuser 500, the management module 20 may select one or more electronicdevices for delivery of media to the user 500. Upon selection of theelectronic device(s), the management module 20 may utilize dataassociated with the user profile 30 to facilitate delivery of media tothe selected device(s) for sensing by the user 500 (e.g., viewing and/orhearing of the media by the user).

By way of illustration, the management module 20 may determine that theuser 500 is located at his/her primary location and may determine thatthe user 500 makes an interpersonal communication to a food vendor onthis particular day of this week. Thus, the management module 20 maycompare at least a portion of the user profile 30 to food-related mediain the media inventory 26, and select one of those food-related mediafor presentation to the user 500, such as a coupon or advertisement of afood vendor proximal to the user's primary location. This media may bepresented to one or more of the mobile electronic device 502, thetelevision 524, and the computer 526, or any other electronic deviceco-located with the user at the primary location. In the illustratedembodiment, the management module 20 comprises a remote server 508located at a first location and a media server 512 located at a secondlocation, while the user 500 is at a third location. However, asdescribed above, any of these modules may be co-located with oneanother, such as resident in the mobile electronic device 502 of theuser 500.

As noted above, at least a portion of the user profile 30 may be locatedon the mobile electronic device 502 to facilitate delivery of media tothe mobile electronic device 502. In addition, at least a portion of themanagement module 20 may also be located on the mobile electronic device502 to facilitate presentation of the media. Thus, peer-to-peer mediadelivery may be facilitated.

For example, and with reference to FIG. 8, a first mobile electronicdevice 806 may include a data gathering module (not illustrated) and maybe associated with a first user 800. A second mobile electronic device810 may also include a data gathering module (not illustrated) and maybe associated with a second user 802. At least a portion of a managementmodule (not illustrated) may be associated with each of the mobileelectronic devices 806, 810. When the mobile electronic devices 806, 810are co-located, the management modules of each of the devices 806, 810may communicate with one another to facilitate presentation of selectedmedia based on the user profiles of each of the mobile electronicdevices 806, 810. For example, the management modules of each of thedevices 806, 810 may share relationship data, such as social networkdata, to determine whether a common relationship is shared by the users800, 802 of the mobile electronic devices 806, 810. If such a commonrelationship exists (e.g., both the users know or are acquainted with athird party), a message may be displayed via media output devicesassociated with the mobile electronic devices 806, 810 to communicate toeach of the users 800, 802 that they have a common relationship. In theillustrated embodiment, messages are provided via displays of the mediaoutput devices of the mobile electronic devices 806, 810, indicatingthat the users 800, 802 have a common relationship and that the users800, 802 are co-located with one another. An image of one user may alsobe provided to the other user.

Referring now to FIG. 9, one embodiment of a system for collectinginformation about a plurality of users utilizing a plurality ofelectronic devices is provided. The system includes a plurality ofelectronic devices (600A, 600B through 600 n), and a plurality of datagathering modules (1000A, 1000B through 1000 n) associated with thoseelectronic devices. As provided above, the data gathering modules(1000A, 1000B, through 1000 n) may communicate data associated with eachof a unique user (900A, 900B through 900 n). The users (900A, 900Bthrough 900 n) may be uniquely identified via a unique identifierassociated with each of the data gathering modules (1000A, 1000B through1000 n) and/or using a unique identifier, such as a phone number, socialsecurity number, address or other uniquely identifying characteristic.As described above, one or more management modules 2000 may receiveelectronic data and maintain a plurality of user profiles (3000A, 30000Bthrough 3000 n) based on received electronic data for each of thoseelectronic devices (600A, 600B through 600 n). Any of the abovedescribed data gathering and correlation techniques may be employed bythe management module(s) 2000 to facilitate maintenance of the userprofiles (3000A, 3000B through 3000 n). The user profiles may containany of the electronic device data or the deduced information, asdescribed above. The management module(s) 2000 may, from time to time,select media for presentation to one or more of the users (900A, 900Bthrough 900 n). The selected media may be displayed to one or more ofthe users (900A, 900B through 900 n) via one or more media outputdevices 4000 co-located with one or more of the users (900A, 900Bthrough 900 n). For example, media may be output via a mobile electronicdevice of a user, such as a mobile phone and/or one or more otherdisplays co-located with a user, such as a billboard, television, orcomputer.

Methods of presenting media to a user are also provided, an embodimentof which is illustrated in FIG. 10 a. In this embodiment, the methodincludes the steps of collecting electronic data of at least oneelectronic device 1101, maintaining at least one user profile based onthe electronic data 1102, selecting media based on at least one userprofile 1103, selecting a media output device via which to deliver theselected media 1104, and causing delivery of the selected media to theselected output device 1105.

The collecting step 1101 may be accomplished via, for example, a datagathering module resident on the electronic device. The collecting step1101 may also include the collecting of and receiving of informationfrom other sources, such as from vendors and relations of the userand/or user interaction with other electronic devices, as described infurther detail below.

The collected data is generally maintained at a central location tofacilitate the maintenance of the user profiles. For example, the userprofiles may be maintained on a remote server. In one approach, thecollected electronic data is periodically uploaded to the remote servervia data management modules. In another approach, data is provided tothe server via a wired connection (e.g., the Internet, a telephonenetwork, a cable television network). In another approach, the collecteddata is maintained at the electronic device on which the data iscollected.

The maintaining a user profile step 1102 generally includes the step ofcreating and/or updating user profiles based on the collecting data step1101. The maintaining a user profile step 1102 may also include the stepof producing deduced information. As described above, the deducedinformation may be deduced based on collected electronic data. Asdescribed above, the deduced information may comprise any one of pastlocation information, present location information, predicted futurelocation information, past activity information, present activityinformation, predicted future activity information, primary locationinformation, secondary location information, preferences information,and social network information. Thus, the step of maintaining a userprofile may include the step of receiving collected electronic data,deducing deduced information based on collected electronic data, andupdating a user profile to include at least some of the deducedinformation. As described above, the deduced information is generallydeduced by correlating one or more of spatial data, temporal data,and/or interaction data.

In a particular embodiment, the maintaining a user profile step 1102 maycomprise comparing a first user profile to at least one other userprofile to produce at least some deduced information. In this regard, itis noted that, sometimes, information about one user may be deduced frominformation about a second user, especially when such users share commoncharacteristics, such as a common social network, a common preference, acommon age group, and/or a common geographic location, to name a few.Thus, the step of maintaining the user profiles 1102 may include thesteps of comparing a first user profile to at least one other userprofile, producing deduced information based on this comparing step, andmaintaining at least one of the user profiles to include at least someof this deduced information.

The deduced information may also be deduced based on previously deducedinformation. For example, first deduced information may be deduced basedoff spatial, temporal, and/or interaction data, as noted above. Thisfirst deduced information may provide a good basis for deducing otherdeduced information. Thus, this first deduced information may becorrelated with temporal data, spatial data, and/or interaction data toproduce second deduced information. At least one user profile may bemaintained based on at least a portion of the second deducedinformation.

In a related embodiment, deduced information may be deduced based on acorrelation of first deduced information and second deduced information,either of which may be deduced based on any of spatial data, temporaldata, interaction data, and deduced information. In this regard, thirddeduced information may be deduced by correlating the first deducedinformation with the second deduced information. At least one userprofile may be maintained based on at least a portion of this thirddeduced information.

The selecting media step 1103 generally comprises utilizing at least aportion of the user profile (e.g., current location information). In oneapproach, a dynamic media delivery analysis is completed where at leasta portion of the user profile is compared to metadata of a mediainventory and media is then selected based on the comparison. In oneembodiment, characteristics of the user profile may be compared tocharacteristics of the media to facilitate selection of the media. Forexample, locations of one or more users may be compared to mediainventory metadata to determine whether any of the media may be suitablefor delivery to any of those locations. In turn, media may be deliveredto those users, or a further comparison of the media metadata to theuser profiles may be undertaken to further tailor the media and/orascertain whether to present the media. Thus, targeted mediapresentation, irrespective of user location, may be achieved.

The selecting the media step 1103 may be initiated by any suitabletrigger. For example, the selecting the media step may be initiatedbased on spatial data and/or temporal data, such as when the user and/orthe mobile electronic device of the user are located in a desiredgeographical vicinity, or at a desired time. The trigger may be inaccordance with a given media content, such as concomitant withclearing, accessing, viewing, editing and/or production of a given priceof media content. For example, when the price of merchandise and/orservices attains a certain level, the selecting media step 1103 may betriggered. The trigger may also be a community type trigger, wherein themedia is selected when the user is co-located with a given person orpersons, or when the user communicates with a given person or persons.The trigger may also be a commerce type trigger, wherein the media isselected with the occurrence of a type of commercial transaction. Anyone of these triggers may be used alone to trigger the selecting mediastep 1103, or may be used in any combination to trigger the selectingmedia step. The media selection may be accomplished at the electronicdevice or may be accomplished remotely from the electronic device, suchas on a server remote from the electronic device.

The selecting a media output device step 1104 is generally accomplishedby comparing the user's present location or predicted future location toa catalogue of media output devices proximal at least one of thoselocations. For example, it may be determined that a user of anelectronic device is co-located with one or more displays (e.g.,co-located with a television at a friend's house). This determinationmay be based on the user profile, which may include current locationdata. Upon determining which displays are co-located with the user, oneor more of those displays may be selected for delivery of the selectedmedia. In one approach, a mobile electronic device associated with theuser is selected as the media output device. In another approach, adifferent media output device co-located with the user is selected, suchas a billboard, television, computer or any other display, and/or aspeaker or other audio output device co-located with the user, and/oranother sensory output device co-located with the user (e.g., a taste,smell or touch sensory output device). Any one of these media outputdevices alone or in any combination may be selected to provide media.

In one embodiment, the media may be delivered to at least two mediaoutput devices co-located with the user, such as a first media outputdevice, which may be an output device of a mobile electronic device, anda second media output device, which may be a visual display, notincluding the mobile electronic device output. Upon selection of the oneor more media output devices, the media may be transformed to theappropriate format for delivery to the at least two media outputdevices. For example, the first media may be delivered in an audio-onlyformat, such as when a user is driving and the media is to be deliveredto a mobile electronic device co-located with the user. Concomitantly, arelated media may be delivered to a billboard located proximal theroad/highway on which the user is driving. The audio media provided tothe mobile electronic device may convey to the user of the mobileelectronic device that a visual message is about to be displayed via theabove-noted billboard (e.g., “User, don't forget your wife's birthday istomorrow. This message brought to you by ABC Jewelers, convenientlylocated just off the next exit.”).

The media output device may be selected using the at least oneelectronic device or may be selected using another electronic device,such as via a server remote from the at least one electronic device. Inturn, the causing of the delivery of the media step 1105 may also beaccomplished at the at least one electronic device, or may beaccomplished remote from the at least one electronic device, such as onthe server remote from the at least one electronic device. Any known ordeveloped methods of causing delivery of media to an electronic devicemay be used, such as wireless communication.

As may be appreciated, modules of an electronic device may beproprietary and thus, it may be difficult to receive information fromsuch modules. However, if the manufacturers of such modules, or otherparties associated therewith, had an incentive to provide collectedinformation, they might agree to facilitate sharing of informationbetween the data gathering module and those modules, making it easier tocollect information. In this regard, the present invention alsoencompasses methods for facilitating collection of informationassociated with a mobile electronic device, one embodiment of which isillustrated in FIG. 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the methodincludes the steps of collecting electronic data via one or moreoperational modules of an electronic device 1106, providing thecollected data to a data gathering module 1107, and compensating thethird party associated with the operational modules for providing thecollected data 1108. Thus, methods of collecting electronic data of atleast one electronic device 1101 may be facilitated.

One manner of compensating the third parties may be to provide the thirdparties with at least a portion of the compensation received from othersfor providing access to the user profiles and/or for allowingpresentation of media rights, as described in further detail below. Inthis regard, the method may also include the steps of maintaining atleast one user profile based on the electronic data 1102, such asdescribed above, and enabling access to one or more of those userprofiles 1150. As described in further detail below, compensation may bereceived 1152 for enabling access to such user profiles 1150 and/or forproviding rights to present media to users 1154. At least a portion ofthis compensation may be provided to the third parties associated withthe operational modules that provide collected electronic data.

In one embodiment, a user profile may comprise first information andsecond information, the first information being based on data collectedby a first operational module of the mobile electronic device, and thesecond information being based on data collected by a second operationalmodule of the mobile electronic device. In this regard, the method mayinclude the step of compensating a party who enabled the provision ofthe first information at a first compensation rate. The method may alsoinclude the step of compensating a party who enabled the provision ofthe second information at a second compensation rate. In a particularembodiment, the first compensation rate may be related to a ratio of theamount of first information within the user profile to a total amount ofinformation within that user profile. In turn, the second compensationrate may be related to a ratio of the amount of second information inthe user profile compared to the total amount of information in the userprofile.

Difficulties may arise in obtaining user permission to collect data. Forexample, privacy concerns and/or privacy laws may be implicated bygathering one or more of the spatial, temporal and/or interaction data.To overcome such concerns and/or laws, methods may be employed forobtaining user agreement to the data collection. For example, a user mayagree to allow collection of data for compensation. In one instance, auser may be provided an electronic device having a data collectionmodule resident thereon at a discount, or for free, in return for anagreement by the user to allow collection of electronic data. In anotherinstance, users may be compensated in proportion to the amount of datathey collect and share.

One method of facilitating collection of electronic data is illustratedin FIG. 10 c, the method including the step of associating a datagathering module with an electronic device 1111, obtaining useragreement to allow collection of data 1112, collecting electronic dataof the electronic device 1101, such as described above, and maintaininga user profile based on the collected electronic data 1102, as describedabove. As may be appreciated, users may be hesitant to allow datacollection. Thus, one embodiment includes compensating a user forallowing collection of data 1115 in exchange for an agreement by theuser to allow the collection of the data. As discussed in further detailbelow, the compensation may be based on the various levels of datacollected and shared 1117, and the compensation provided to the user maybe relative (e.g., proportional) to the amount of data collected andshared by the user 1118. Since, in this embodiment, the user is allowedto choose the amount of data that is collected and shared, user privacyconcerns may be curtailed.

One system for facilitating selection of data collecting and sharinglevels is illustrated in FIG. 10 d. In the illustrated embodiment, adata gathering module 10, such as described above, includes a datagathering preferences module 1120, which allows the user to select oneor more data collection options 1121. For instance, the data gatheringpreferences module 1120 may allow the user to select whether to collectany of the spatial data, the temporal data, and the interaction data,such as the interpersonal communication data, media data, useridentifying information data, social network information data,transactional data and/or device interaction data, and whether to sharesuch data. Thus, the user can select the amount of data to be collectedand to whom this data can be shared. In the latter regard, variouspermission levels may be set for the sharing of the collected data. Inone approach, the data preference modules 1120 may enable the user toselect the levels at which collected data will be shared with variousrelations. By way of primary example, collected data may be shared withfamily at a first level and collected data may be shared with businessesat a second level, the first level including a greater amount ofcollected data than the second level. In one instance, a first type ofdata may be selected to be shared with a first entity (e.g., friends),but at least some of that first data is not selected to be shared with asecond entity (e.g., businesses). Many other data collecting and sharingpreference combinations are possible and all such combinations arewithin the scope and spirit of the instant invention.

As noted, and with reference back to FIG. 10 c, methods of compensatingthe user for allowing data collection 115 may be based on the amount ofdata the user allows to be collected and shared 1118. For example, afirst tier of compensation may be provided if the user allows thecollection and sharing of data at a first level, such as sharing of atleast some spatial data category. A second tier of compensation, whichmay be higher than the first tier of compensation, may be provided ifthe user allows the collection and sharing of a data at second level,such as allowing the collection of more spatial data, temporal dataand/or interaction data, or allowing the sharing of data with moreentities (e.g., friends, family, co-workers, business relations,vendors, government entities, and other entities). In turn, third,fourth, and so on, levels of compensation may be provided for thecollection and sharing of even greater amounts of data or the sharing ofdata with more entities. The compensation may be provided by themaintainer of the user profile and/or other parties interested inobtaining data related to users and/or their electronic devices, such asadvertisers or vendors.

Methods for facilitating collection of user information utilizing otherusers are also provided, one embodiment of which is illustrated in FIG.10 e. In the illustrated embodiment, the method includes the steps ofmaintaining at least one user profile 1102, such as described above,collecting data about users via other users 1130, providing the otheruser data to a maintainer of the user profiles 1132, and compensatingusers 1134 for at least one of the collecting the other user data step1130 and the providing the other user data step 1132.

The collecting other user data step 1130 may be accomplished in avariety of manners, such as via personal area network communicationsbetween one or more mobile electronic devices 1137. In this regard, itwill be noted that, when such mobile electronic devices are proximalother personal area network enabled communication devices, those devicesmay share information. Thus, when a first user is proximal other userswho have enabled personal area network communications, the first usermay collect information about those users via his/her mobile electronicdevice. As may be appreciated, the first user may not normally have anincentive to collect such other user data information. However, byproviding compensation to the first user, an incentive is realized, andthe first user may collect such other user data and provide such otheruser data to a maintainer of the user profiles. In return, themaintainer of the user profiles may compensate the first user forcollecting and/or providing the other user data. In one embodiment, themaintainer of the user profiles may compensate this first user viamonetary compensation. In another embodiment, the first user may becompensated via discounted merchandise and/or services, such as viadiscounted or free mobile electronic devices and/or discounted or freeservices relating thereto.

In a related embodiment, the maintainer of the user profiles may desireothers to update user profiles. Thus, the method may also include thesteps of enabling access, by a first user, to at least a portion ofother user profile information 1135, allowing the first user to reviewand/or update the other user profile information 1136, and compensatingthe first user for updating the user profile information 1134. In thisregard, the enabled access may be provided via a network, such as theInternet, or by downloading at least a portion of the other userprofile(s) to the mobile electronic device of the first user.

As noted above, the methods may include the step of maintaining at leastone user profile based on electronic data. Maintenance of the userprofiles is important to provide accurate user profile data, which mayincrease third party demand for such user profiles. In this regard, andwith reference to FIG. 10 f, one or more user profiles may be sharedwith third parties 1140, such as relations of the users 1142 orbusinesses 1144. In one approach, the user profiles are shared withrelations 1142 (e.g., family, friends, businesses, government entities,and other relations) and those relations receive at least a portion ofthe user profile, such as via an electronic device, such as a mobilephone capable of communicating via a personal area network. Theelectronic devices of the relations 1142 may also have data collectingcapability and may store and share data, not only relating to theirelectronic device, but also from the electronic devices of other users,thus enabling the collection of other users information 1146. In turn,this other users information may be provided to the maintainer of theuser profiles, who may maintain the user profiles 1102 based thereon. Inthis regard, it should be noted that, since many of the mobileelectronic devices may be uniquely identified, such as via a datagathering module having a unique identifier associated therewith or viaa phone number, associating the collected data with other user profilesmay be readily facilitated.

In a related embodiment, user profiles may be shared with one or morebusinesses 1144. In this regard, the businesses 1144 may agree tocollect user information based on interaction of user and the business(e.g., transactional data, browsing habits data). For example, thebusinesses 1144 may agree to collect user information 1148 viainteractions with mobile electronic devices (e.g., via a personal areanetwork). The businesses may agree to share this collected userinformation 1148 with the maintainer of the user profile, such as via acompensation arrangement. One compensation arrangement would be a jointdata sharing arrangement, wherein the maintainer of the user profilesagrees to provide a portion of the user profile to the business inreturn for an agreement by the business that it will share at least someof its collected user information 1148. Thus, the business may be ableto present targeted media to the users and the maintainer of the userprofiles may be able to maintain more accurate user profiles.

In a particular embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 10 g, one methodfor receiving compensation includes the steps of collecting electronicdata of at least one electronic device 1101, maintaining at least oneuser profile based on the electronic data 1102, enabling access to oneor more of user profiles 1150, and receiving compensation for enablingaccess to the user profiles 1152. The collecting of electronic data step1101 and maintaining user profile step 1102 may be completed, asdescribed above. Enabling access to user profiles 1150 may be completedin a variety of manners, such as by allowing vendors to access adatabase containing at least a portion of user profiles. In anotherembodiment, at least a portion of the user profiles may be sent to thevendors for their access.

Irrespective of how access is provided, the illustrated embodimentprovides for receiving compensation for enabling access to the userprofiles 1150. As noted above, the collecting electronic data step 1101may enable the maintenance of rich user profiles, thereby allowing oneor more vendors to readily identify which users to present targetedmedia. Thus, vendors may be willing to provide compensation to themaintainer of those user profiles, and in some circumstances, directlyto the users themselves, in order to receive such user profiles. Forexample, the vendor may be willing to provide monetary, merchandise,and/or service compensation in return for access to at least a portionof the user profiles. In another embodiment, the vendors may be willingto provide access to the user information those vendors collect inreturn for access to at least a portion of the maintained user profiles.

For example, a plurality of users having electronic devices may beproximal a plurality of food service locations, at least some of whichare adapted to receive at least a portion of the user profilesassociated with the mobile electronic devices. Those food servicebusinesses may review received user profiles and, upon locating one ormore user profiles that are in accordance with certain media deliverypreferences, such as cultural and/or buying preferences of the user, maybid for a right to provide a coupon, an advertisement, or other media toone or more of the users. In one approach, the businesses may take intoaccount their own conditions, such as economic conditions, capacityrate, and a food delivery rate, to name a few, to facilitate whethercompensation is justified for obtaining access to the user profilesand/or providing media to the users of the user profiles. As noted, thecompensation may be provided to the maintainer or supplier of the userprofiles, and in one approach at least some of the compensation isprovided to one or more users for sharing their individual profiles,such as when the users have a personal area network enabled that allowsthe sharing of the user profile locally with the vendors. In oneapproach, the maintainer of the user profile may require an accesscharge to access one or more of the user profiles. This access chargemay be charged on a per access basis, a time basis (e.g., unlimitedaccess for one week), or otherwise.

In another embodiment, the method may include the step of receiving,from one or more vendors, offers for an exclusive right to present mediato a first user 1156, the first user being associated with the userprofile received by the one or more vendors. Thus, after access to theuser profiles has been enabled 1150, a reverse auction mechanism may beutilized to determine a right to provide media. Thus, the method mayalso include the step of accepting one of the offers 1158, and enablingthe presentation of the media to the first user 1154.

In a particular embodiment, the method includes the step of receiving arequest for greater access to the user profiles 1151. In this regard,the enabling access step 1150 may provide access to a first tier of theuser profile, and the receiving compensation step 1152 may includereceiving a first level of compensation. Concomitantly or afterwards, arequest from one or more of the vendors for greater access to the userprofiles may be received 1151, the request requesting access to at leasta second tier of the user profile, the second tier of the user profileincluding information of the user profile not included in the first tierof the user profile. For example, the first tier may be akin to anabstract of each of the user profiles, and the second tier may includemore detailed information than contained in the abstract. The method mayfurther include the step of enabling access to the second tier of theuser profile and receiving additional compensation therefore, the latterof which has been included in step 1152 in the illustrated embodimentfor the sake of clarity. This additional compensation may be any of theabove-noted types of compensation.

As noted above, the enabling access step 1150 may be provided by themaintainer of the user profiles or may be enabled by the usersthemselves. Thus, one embodiment of the present method provides forfacilitating access to the user profile information by a first user. Inthis regard, the compensation may be provided directly to the firstuser, as described in further detail below.

In another embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 10 j, the method mayinclude the step of reviewing one or more of the user profiles 1180 andlocating one or more media display opportunities based on the review1182. For example, a dynamic media display opportunity analysis may becompleted, wherein the data of the user profiles are correlated withmetadata associated with media of a media inventory 1186 and variousones of the user profiles, which, for example, meet one or more mediaopportunity criteria, may be selected as media display opportunities.Concomitantly or afterwards, the method may include the step ofpresenting one or more of the media display opportunities to one or morevendors 1184. For example, an electronic communication may be madebetween the maintainer of the user profiles and the vendors to notifythe vendors of the media display opportunity. Such communication mayinclude data about the opportunity, such as electronic data and/ordeduced information associated with one or more of the user profiles1188. In particular, the communication may include one or more ofcurrent location information, predicted future location information,predicted future activity information and preferences information. Thevendors, in turn, may review the data and/or provide compensation forthe right to display targeted media to one or more of the users 1154,such as via an auction mechanism, e.g., where vendors bid for the rightto present media 1190, or by meeting a minimum threshold compensationlevel, as determined by the maintainer of the user profiles and/or theuser themselves.

As noted, data obtained by other sources, such as businesses andgovernment entities, may also be used to maintain the user profile(1102). One issue associated with the use of such data is authenticity.Inaccurate data can lead to inaccurate user profiles, and thuspresentation of less preferred media, In this regard, an authenticationinterface, such as an application server utilizing an API may beutilized to authenticate the provider of the information and/or toauthenticate the information itself. In one embodiment, and asillustrated in FIG. 10 h, spatial data, temporal data and/or interactiondata gathered by one or more businesses or government entities 1172 maybe presented to an authentication interface 1174 via a network, such asthe Internet. The authentication interface may authenticate the thirdparty (e.g., via a digital certificate) prior to allowing the data to beutilized in maintaining the user profiles 1102 and/or or theauthentication interface may authenticate the data itself, such as via acomparison of the collected data to authenticating information, such asvia user identity data and/or transactional data. In the latter regard,a plurality of data provided by the third party may be reviewed andcompared against known user profiles to determine whether the data issufficiently authentic to justify use in maintaining user profiles. Ifthe comparison indicates that the data is authentic (e.g., apredetermined number of authentication criteria are met) the third partydata may be provided to a maintainer of the user profiles 1176 andcomplied with preexisting data to facilitate maintenance of the userprofile 1102. If the comparison does not indicate that the data isauthentic, the data may be rejected 1178. Hence, collection andauthentication of data from third parties is facilitated. As describedabove, such third parties may be compensated for the authentication ofand/or the provision of the data.

As noted above, the method may include the step of selecting media basedon the user profile. As described above, one way of selecting media isto compare at least a portion of the user profile to data associatedwith media of the media inventory and select one or more media based onthe comparison. A related embodiment of selecting media is provided inFIG. 10 i. In the illustrated embodiment, the media selection may befacilitated by enabling access to at least a portion of the user profile1150, such as to one or more businesses, for which compensation may beprovided to the user 1163 or the maintainer of the user profile 1162.The businesses may receive at least a portion of the user profile andreview the profile 1164 to ascertain whether they may be interested inproviding media to the user of the user profile. For example, thebusinesses may review the profile to determine whether the profilematches one of the parameters associated with delivery of mediacriteria, such as cultural preferences, buying preferences, relationshipdata, and/or predicted future locations and/or predicted futureactivities data. If the businesses are not interested in providing mediato the user, nothing further may occur. However, if the businesses areinterested in providing media to the user, those businesses may, forexample, bid for the right to provide the media 1166 or request greateraccess to the user profiles 1168. In either case, compensation may beprovided to one of the user 1163 and the maintainer of the user profile1162.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedin detail, it is apparent that modifications and adaptations of thoseembodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. However, it is to beexpressly understood that such modifications and adaptations are withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method comprising: collecting electronic devicedata of a plurality of mobile electronic devices; maintaining aplurality of user profiles based on the electronic device data;reviewing the plurality of user profiles to determine a user having apotential interest in purchasing a good or service; presenting a mediadisplay opportunity to vendors; receiving bids from the vendors todisplay an advertisement to the user; selecting, from the bids, awinning bid associated with a first vendor of the vendors; selecting amedia output device via which to deliver a targeted advertisementassociated with the first vendor; and causing the delivery of thetargeted advertisement to the selected media output device.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the causing the delivery of the targetedadvertisement further comprises causing the delivery of one or more ofan advertisement, a coupon, and entertainment.
 23. The method of claim21, wherein the collecting electronic device data further comprisescollecting at least one of temporal data, spatial data and interactiondata.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the collecting at least one oftemporal data, spatial data, and interaction data further comprisescollecting at least one of interpersonal communication data, media data,relationship data, transaction data and electronic device interactiondata.
 25. The method of claim 21, further comprising producing deducedinformation, wherein the deduced information comprises at least one ofpast location information, present location information, predictedfuture location information, past activity information, present activityinformation, predicted future activity information, primary locationinformation, secondary location information, preferences information andsocial network information.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein theselecting a media output device via which to deliver a targetedadvertisement associated with the first vendor further comprisesselecting a media device via which to deliver at least one of avibration, a smell, and a taste.
 27. The method of claim 21, wherein theselecting a media output device via which to deliver a targetedadvertisement associated with the first vendor further comprisesselecting at least one of a taste sensory output device, a touch sensoryoutput device, and a smell sensory output device.
 28. A systemcomprising: a user data gathering module associated with a mobileelectronic device, wherein the user data gathering module gatherselectronic device data of the mobile electronic device; an authenticatorfor receiving and authenticating third party data received from at leastone third party; a profile management module that receives theelectronic device data and the third party data; a user profileassociated with a user, wherein the profile management module managesthe user profile and wherein the user profile includes at least some ofthe electronic device data and the third party data; and a mediapresentation module that receives at least a portion of the user profileand facilitates presentation of selected media to a media output deviceassociated with the user, wherein the selected media is based on atleast a portion of the user profile and comprises an advertisement. 29.The system of claim 28, wherein the media presentation modulefacilitates presentation of selected media to at least one of a tastesensory output device, a touch sensory output device, and a smellsensory output device.
 30. The system of claim 28, wherein the selectedmedia is a message comprising at least one of taste, smell, andvibration.
 31. The system of claim 28, wherein the electronic devicedata includes at least one of spatial data, temporal data, andinteraction data and the third party data includes at least one ofspatial data, temporal data, and interaction data.
 32. The system ofclaim 31, wherein the interaction data includes at least one ofinterpersonal communication data, media data, relationship data,transaction data, and device interaction data.
 33. The system of claim32, wherein the relationship data includes at least one of socialnetwork data and user identity data.
 34. The system of claim 28, whereinthe selected media further comprises at least one of a coupon andentertainment.
 35. A method comprising: collecting electronic devicedata of a plurality of mobile electronic devices; maintaining aplurality of user profiles based on the electronic device data;reviewing the plurality of user profiles to determine a user having apotential interest in purchasing a good or service; selecting a mediaoutput device via which to deliver an advertisement to the user; andtransmitting the advertisement to the selected media output device. 36.The method of claim 35, further comprising receiving a bid from a vendorto display the advertisement to the user.
 37. The method of claim 36,wherein the receiving a bid from a vendor to display the advertisementfurther comprises receiving a bid from a vendor to display at least oneof an advertisement, a coupon, and entertainment.
 38. The method ofclaim 35, wherein the collecting electronic device data furthercomprises collecting at least one of temporal data, spatial data andinteraction data.
 39. The method of claim 35, wherein the selecting amedia output device via which to deliver the advertisement to the userfurther comprises selecting at least one of a taste sensory outputdevice, a touch sensory output device, and a smell sensory outputdevice.
 40. The method of claim 35, wherein the transmitting theadvertisement to the selected media output device further comprisestransmitting a message comprising at least one of a taste, a smell, anda vibration.